Coach Layouts
Common double decker buses have seating on an upper level, can have one or more stairwells, can have two doors, and can have open space on a lower level. Examples are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 1,905,842 and U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0224570.
Other related examples include, for example, European Patent Application EP 2 340 798 which discloses a space in a coach set aside for the mobility impaired. The coach has a typical layout of a central aisle and pairs of seats. The space is provided by removing several pairs of seats along one side of the aisle. FIG. 6 looks down from overhead at the set-aside space. A wheelchair is present. Four belts—marked by numbers 40, 40′, 70, 70′—hold the wheelchair. They are secured to the coach inside boxes below the floor of the coach. They are fastened to the chair by hooks—42, 42′, 72, 72′. A seatbelt—50, 50′—is also provided. Winding mechanisms are included and provide for retracting and extending the belts. A shoulder belt may be added.
U.S. Design Pat. D62813351 discloses a coach interior. As in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the patent, the design of Design Pat. D62813351 is a side-facing stadium-seating layout of passenger seats. Three rows of seats all face to one side of the coach. Each row that sits behind another row is elevated for passenger viewing above the heads of the passengers in the row ahead. U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,671 also has stadium seating, this time oriented toward the front, rather than sideways. It also includes a movie screen at the front, as in FIG. 1.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,583 discloses an RV. As in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the patent, an RV has at least three levels. They are for living space. The lower level includes a “walking portion.” The upper level is a deck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,774 discloses a motor coach with a broadcast booth and a separate office. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coach includes two levels. A driver's area is on the lower level. A stairway leads to the upper level. The stairway is in the middle of the coach. The upper level includes two compartments. Furnishings on the coach include a desk and a cabinet for electronic equipment in each compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,405,136 discloses a double deck vehicle, a Pullman train car. FIGS. 1 and 2 are the two ends of the car. Seats in the center are on two levels. Upper seats include a central aisle. Lower seats are turned outward and include side aisles. Side stairwells lead from the lower seating level aisles to a middle, non-seating, service level at either end. A central stairwell leads to the central aisle of the upper seating level.
Canadian Patent 2,652,352 discloses a coach with seating that varies in floor level, one level in the front, and another in the back. The two levels are joined by a step.
Securement for Wheelchairs and Wheelchair Ramps
U.S. Pat. No. 7,963,730 discloses in its background a disfavored tie-down system of straps with hooks to engage wheelchair frames and lugs to engage floor receptors. It asserts advantages of greater safety, reduced delays, lack of need for dedicated floor space, and occupancy of mobility-impaired space by the able-bodied as appropriate. The tie-down is adjacent folding chairs.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,717,655 discloses a set of wheelchair securement mechanisms. A module at the back has two retractor assemblies with belts. Another belt is at the front. The back belt spools are latchable and otherwise rotating. A control operates the latching. It may be operated by the driver and have a time delay.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,081 discloses a two part wheelchair ramp and a wheelchair securement system. As in FIG. 1, the ramp in its two sections may extend out diagonally, or be stowed with the two sections upright and tight against each other. As in FIG. 5, the securement includes upright posts and locking members.